Disbarred San Diego County lawyer sentenced

VISTA, Calif. (AP) — A disbarred San Diego County lawyer who made national headlines by encouraging people to break into their foreclosed homes has been sentenced in two criminal cases.

Michael T. Pines was sentenced to three years of probation late last month, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. He pleaded guilty to stalking, trespassing, attempted extortion other charges.

Prosecutors say in one case, Pines advised an evicted family to retake possession of their home for about two months and that he stalked and harassed the current occupants.

In the other, Pines demanded more than $1 million from a couple who were leasing a Rancho Santa Fe home owned by bankrupt former NFL player Robert Otis Griffith. Pines threatened the couple with arrest unless they paid.